Sam, Sam the Toothless Man

Sam jumped into bed with me rather abruptly this morning. It was 6:58am, and since he's been trained for years to not wake us up before seven-zero-zero, I knew it must be something important.

"Mom," he said breathlessly, "in the past twelve hours, my loosest tooth went from a little bit loose to feeling like I have a paperclip or staple or something in my mouth!"

Now, Sam has had some loose teeth since forever ago. It's been almost a year and a half since we felt the first wiggle. He's been asking us to check one or more of his teeth almost daily. So I wasn't really expecting too much had changed overnight, but what the hell? I was willing to humor my boy.

And then, once I put my fingers in his little mouth to see what all the fuss was about, I realized he was right. That paperclip or staple or something was the sharp edge of his tooth, which had been liberated from his gums. He spent a good twenty minutes trying to pull it out, but wasn't able to get it. Finally, I decided to get his breakfast ready, and wouldn't you know, three bites in out came the tooth! Luckily, he didn't swallow it.



He was so, so excited. We called daddy and the grandparents, and then he instructed me to take a picture and put it on Facebook. (Note to self: reduce screen time in front of the children!) As any good mother would, I complied. He then had me put his tooth in an envelope for safe keeping and he took it up to his room. He wants to leave it on his window sill because he thinks that will be easier for the tooth fairy to handle. (HOW AWESOME IS THAT??? FOR ME!!!) Even though he's already a little suspicious of Santa and easter bunnies, since the tooth fairy is a new thing he still believes.

Part of me is a little sad that my firstborn is growing up. I mean, the tooth itself is so tiny, but he's growing bigger every day. That small white square is a huge reminder that just a little bit ago he was Fred's size. Now, we have numerous toys he can't play on due to how much he weighs.

But another part of me feels just as excited as he does. I don't know why, but I think this is a good omen. For a good day. A good month. A good life.